FIRST STEPS: Joan Lombardi, Ph.D.RESULTSJuly, 2012Early Childhood:

Looking Back and Moving

Forward

Progress

Challenges

Towards a National Strategy

Reflecting on history…….

1909 First White House Conference on the Care of Dependent Children

1912 The Establishment of the Children’s Bureau

1935 Title V Maternal and Child Health

1965 Head Start

The Child Care and Development Fund

The Children’s Health Insurance

The Education Goals

Early Head Start

State Prek Initiatives

1970’S -2008

EARLY CHILDHOOD MATTERS…THE CASE IS STRONG,

THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE CONVERGES

Neuroscience

Molecular biology

Genomics

Developmental psychology

Epidemiology

Sociology

Economics

Relationships Matters, Health Matters

ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES AND

ADULT CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE

ACEs Source: Dong et al, 2004

Od

ds R

ati

o

0 1 2 3 4 5,6 7,8

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

Early Learning

Health, Nutrition

and Mental Health

Family Support and

Child Protection

New appreciation for the integrated nature of early childhood development

New Vision Old Think• Learning begins at school• Health or education• Care vs education• Child focus vs parent focus• Transition from preschool to

school

New Think• Learning begins at birth• Health and education• Care and education• Two generations• Continuity prenatal- 8

Early Childhood Funding in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

The Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program

The Early Learning Challenge

MORE RECENT RESOURCES

Inequality

Funding

The policy environment

The capacity of the field

CHALLENGES

VARIATION BY STATE: ALL CHILDREN

VARIATION BY STATE: CHILDREN UNDER SIX

DISPARITIES ON THE BAYLEY COGNITIVE ASSESSMENT BETWEEN HIGHER AND LOWER INCOME INFANTS AT 9 AND 24

MONTHS

Source: Halle, T., Forry, N., Hair, E., Perper, K., Wandner, L., Wessel, J., & Vick, J. (2009). Disparities in Early Learning and Development: Lessons from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Birth Cohort (ECLS-B). Washington, DC: Child Trends.

SCHOOL READINESS BY MOTHER’S EDUCATION LEVEL

Percentage of First-time Kindergartners Demonstrating Positive Indicators of School Readiness by Mother’s Education Level, 1998

Source: Child Trends and Center for Health Research. (2004). Early Child Development in Social Context. Data from K. Denton, E. Germino-Hausken, and J. West (project officer), America’s Kindergartners, NCES 2000-070, (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics, 2000).

Perc

ent

Child Well Being in Rich CountriesUNICEF Innocenti Research Center, Report Card 7, 2007

Nearly 11 million children under age 5 spend time in some type of child care arrangement every week

On average the children of working mothers spend 35 hours a week in child care

Child care expenses take a significant bite out of family income, particularly for low income families

Child Care Aware of America, 2012

THE FACTS ABOUT CHILD CARE IN THE UNITED STATES

Only 1 out of 6 eligible families are able to access child care assistance

Head Start serves less than half the eligible children

Early Head Start serves less than 5 percent of the eligible children

TIGHTENING RESOURCES

Eligibility

Rates

Co-payments

Salaries

Other quality improvements

QUALITY AND ACCESS THREATENED

Much of the progress made under ARRA in child care has stalled

Families in 37 states were worse off in 2011 than in 2010 due to one or more changes in state child care assistance policies such as more restrictive eligibility criteria, longer waiting lists, higher co-payments or lower provider reimbursement rates (National Women’s Law Center)

LACK OF CHILD CARE SUPPORT EFFECTS FAMILIES

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

1-2 years 2-3 years

low quality

average

high quality

QUALITY AND DURATION MATTER

(MONTHS OF DEVELOPMENTAL ADVANTAGE ON LITERACY)

Source: E Melish, EPPE Study

Gap between what science says and what policies support

Complex policy environment

Difficult to describe and navigate

Policies not aligned

Multiple human needs

Slow policy process

CURRENT POLICY ENVIRONMENT

There are an estimated 2. 2 million individuals who are paid members of the early childhood workforce. They make up 30 % of the instructional workforce.

Estimated 3.2 million individuals provide non paid non- parental care

Women working in early care earn 31% less than women with similar qualifications in other fields

Continued difficulty attracting and retaining staff

Higher education institutions do not have capacity to respond to the diversity of roles and amount of preparation needed to assure high quality

Workforce estimates by Rick Brandon, in The Early Childhood Care and Education Workforce: Challenges and Opportunities, Institute of Medicine and National Research Council, 2012

THE CAPACITY OF THE FIELD

Towards a National Strategy

The Child Care and Development Fund

Head Start

Elementary and Secondary Education

DEVELOPING A NATIONAL PLAN FOR UPCOMING REAUTHORIZATIONS

Build public awareness about the importance of the work and the contribution to the economy

Include early childhood in any job creation measures

Target funding to improve the capacity of higher education institutions

Create community infrastructure/networks to support early childhood providers

LAUNCHING A CAMPAIGN TO SUPPORT THE ECONOMY THROUGH IMPROVED EARLY

CHILDHOOD JOBS

CREATING NEW VOICES ANDUNITING THE GENERATIONS

(SOURCE: GENERATIONS UNITED

Supporting a new generation

of leaders

And thinking Across Borders…..

200 million young children are at developmental risk due to poverty, malnutrition, lack of early stimulation and other factors

There is growing evidence from countries in the global south that we can intervene early and make a difference

THE LANCET ON CHILD DEVELOPMENT 2007, 2011

Preschool enrolment by region and income –less than 20% for poorer income quintiles

Keep moving forward!